Benny Junior Box

Benny Junior Box passed away peacefully at his home in Pasadena, Texas, on February 8, 2025. He was 92 years old. On March 2nd, 1932, Benny was born to Earnest Franklin Box and Mamie Johnson Box in Elkhart, Texas. Benny spent most of his teenage years living at his grandmother Frances Sarah Johnson’s (MaSallie’s) home in Elkhart after his father’s premature death in a logging truck accident, he was only 12 years old when he lost his dad. His love of gardening started with his family’s big gardens. During high school in the summertime, he worked picking peas, tomatoes, gathering corn and peanut harvests, and loading watermelons into trucks. He also worked before and after high school at a local dairy farm milking cows with modern machinery. He graduated from Elkhart High School in 1952 where he played football and was voted in his senior year as the most handsome, most representative, and most popular student.

He met the love of his life Vivian Dolores Board on a blind date that both their friends set them up on when they were only 16 years old. They dated off and on for five years keeping in touch as best they could since neither of them had a car. She lived twelve miles away in Grapeland. They enjoyed occasional dates and the movie theatre, and one of their most unforgettable dates was at the Grapeland Fair. The summer before his senior year he worked for the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company in Palestine. After graduating from high school, he lived for one year with his Aunt Geneva and Uncle Zebb Harris in Houston and learned from them how to cook and get familiar with household responsibilities. His first job in Houston was on a milk truck route as a helper making $45 a week and later became a driver making $65 per week for a Borden Milk Truck Distributor.

Benny and Dolores got married on May 31, 1953, at First Christian Church in Grapeland, Texas. They lived in Houston in a duplex apartment. In February 1954 he received his Army Draft Notice, had boot training camp in El Paso, then went to Fort McClellan, Alabama where he had chemical training for 8 weeks, and then to White Sands Army Base in New Mexico. Benny was then transferred to Fort Bragg, Army Base for the N.C. 61st Chemical Corp. where he worked in the Motor Pool Division and learned to be an auto mechanic and helped maintain the army vehicles. He served for two years and was awarded a National Defense Service Medal. He joined the Methodist Church when he was a teenager, then joined his wife and children at the First Christian Church of Pasadena.

During Benny’s first few months of his time in the Army they were overjoyed when their first child, Vivian Diane was born in April 1954. They moved to Pasadena, Texas in August of 1956 where he had started working for Shell Chemical Plant in Deer Park, Texas and after 33 years retired in 1994. He worked in the Chlorine Department where he loaded chemicals into large tanks from big trucks. They were blessed with twin daughters Cathy and Pattie in March 1957. In 1961 he bought his own Borden Milk Truck and hired a few workers to help him sell and distribute milk to local retailers for 13 years. Then from 1966 until 1972 he managed an Exxon Gas Station in Pasadena alongside his other two jobs.

Benny was a hard worker and enjoyed providing for his family. He often celebrated birthdays and special occasions at their home. He enjoyed taking his family on weekend trips to Galveston beach, family reunions, making homemade ice cream and was a great storyteller. Some of their many trips were vacationing through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, drove through Canada from Manitoba up to the Hudson Bay to Nova Scotia, enjoyed Branson Missouri with cousins. He and Dolores took their last two vacationing trips together with his Shell Retiree Group of friends one in 2008 to the scenic trip Canadian Rockies by Rail, and in 2010 they enjoyed a 10-day cruise to Hawaii.

Benny made many lasting friendships throughout his life. Every holiday was a reason to get together and enjoy family. He was a man of many great qualities, such as integrity, high values, kindness, generosity, and patience. He left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. He leaves a huge hole in the hearts of those who have loved him throughout the years.

He was preceded in death by his baby sister Benita Joyce Box; grandfather Frank Morgan Box; grandmother Francis Sarah Johnson “MaSallie”; father Earnest Franklin Box; Mother Mamie Johnson; mother-in-law Oma Ruth Hopkins; father-in-law Arthur Ray Board; great-grandson Colby Reese Fitzgerald; son-in-law George Keith Moseley.

He is survived by his Loving Wife Vivian Dolores Box; daughters Vivian Diane Springer and husband Gary Springer; Cathy L. Box and Pattie M. Moseley. Grandchildren: Marla Fitzgerald; K’Leisha Trevino and husband Thomas Trevino; Benjamin Chancey; Travis K. Moseley and spouse Saige Moseley; and Kathryn Schlemmer-Hamm. Great-grandchildren: Phillip Prince; Cassidy Gomez and spouse Azain Gomez; Matthew Prince; Brock Trevino; Drayven Chancey; Rigby Chancey; Corbin Hamm; Evan Hamm; Zane Moseley. Great-great-grandchildren: Alias Prince; Maia Gomez.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations be made to St, Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or to your favorite charity or hospital, in Benny’s memory.

A visitation for Benny will be held Saturday, March 15, 2025 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Pasadena Funeral Chapel, 2203 PASADENA BLVD, PASADENA, TX 77502, followed by a celebration of life at 4:00 PM.

The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support and many prayers during this difficult time. And also give a special thanks for the loving care given to Benny by the caregivers of BrightStar Care of Friendswood and the Hospice Nurses from Traditions Home Healthcare.